The Bible Is a Bag of Seed: Seven Keys to a Triumphant Life

Sermon outline

God always causes us to triumph in Christ, and a believer born into victory walks in it through prayer, the Word, faith, the Spirit's power and love, and right thinking.

1. Thanks be unto God, who always causes us to triumph in every place

   Paul starts with thanks before telling why: God always causes us to triumph in Christ and makes known the fragrance of His knowledge through us. God shows His wisdom by taking unlikely people, like Paul the persecutor, or a drunkard or addict, and making them preachers. 'In every place' means the valley, the mountaintop or the belly of the fish: wherever you are, God is taking you higher, so no one can steal your joy.

   Illustration: He was not born or raised a Christian but came from a pagan background, rejected Christ and argued with Christians about Him, and now declares that the same Jesus is Lord.

   “You can only lose your joy if you allow people to steal your joy.”

   • 2 Corinthians 2:14
   • Acts 9:3-6
   • 1 Corinthians 1:27
   • Romans 8:28

2. Present your body and be transformed: well-formed maturity

   'No condemnation' is not a licence to do anything: your body is God's temple and there are things a Christian ought not to do. Reading Romans 12:1-2 in The Message, he warns against adjusting to a culture that drags believers down to its immaturity, and calls them to the 'word culture' instead. Well-formed maturity is balanced and sound, not hungry for power over people, but kind, friendly and likeable.

   Illustration: The Message warns against fitting into the culture 'without even thinking'; instead fix your attention on God and be changed from the inside out.

   “So now you are adjusting to a new culture. And that culture is called the word culture.”

   • Romans 12:1-2
   • Romans 8:1

3. 1. You are born into victory

   You were born again of incorruptible seed, the Word of God, so you were born victorious. Whatever life throws at you, you will have challenges, but you are bigger and greater than your challenge, and your life is upward and forward.

   “Yes, you will have challenges, but you are bigger and greater than your challenge.”

   • 1 Peter 1:23

4. 2. Victory is your birthright

   A child born to wealthy parents is born into wealth; when you were born again you were born into victory. You do not have to cry, beg or whine for it, and it does not depend on your house or your bank balance: victory is yours, twenty-four seven.

   Illustration: A baby born to wealthy, influential parents has wealth as its birthright.

   “You don't have to cry for it. You don't have to beg for it. You don't have to whine for it. Victory is just yours.”

5. 3. You have victory through prayer

   A child of God cannot be a prayerless person; everything he has accomplished came through meditation, prayer, intimacy with God and being led by the Spirit. Men ought always to pray and not faint, and what is impossible with men is possible with God: when people say no, God says yes.

   “If people say no, God says yes.”

   • Luke 18:1
   • Luke 18:27

6. 4. You have victory in the Word of God: the Bible is a bag of seed

   Every scripture is word seed, and the soil is your heart. The power of God always comes from the inside out, through the channel of the heart, so guard it from bitterness, unforgiveness and rebellion or the river becomes a dam. You plant and water the seed by speaking and confessing the Word aloud, and the harvest is the physical manifestation of what you have been confessing.

   Illustration: Seed bought in a packet at the shop grows into the picture printed on the front when you plant it.

   “The power of God does not come from the outside. The power of God always comes from the inside.”

   • Hebrews 4:12
   • Isaiah 55:11
   • John 14:1
   • Proverbs 4:23
   • 2 Corinthians 4:7
   • John 7:38
   • Philippians 4:13

7. 5. You have victory through faith

   Without faith it is impossible to please God; every man has been given a measure of faith, faith comes by hearing the Word, and we walk by faith, not by sight. Grow from weak to strong faith and change your house, clothing, finances and even your body by faith.

   Illustration: He looked at old photographs of himself with a moustache and huge glasses and concluded he looks better today, so tell yourself every day you are looking better.

   “I cannot be moved by what I see, what I hear.”

   • Hebrews 11:6
   • Romans 12:3
   • Hebrews 11:1
   • Romans 10:17
   • 2 Corinthians 5:7

8. 6. You have victory through power and love

   He names this key briefly as the power of the Holy Ghost and the God-kind of love, as time is running out.

9. 7. You have victory by the law of asking and thinking

   God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we ask or think, and a renewed mind has the mind of Christ, so you can think something into being as well as ask for it. He demonstrates by thinking the power of God onto people without speaking, touching or pushing, then has the sick lay a hand on themselves and think the power of God healing them rather than the pain. He promises to teach more on this on Wednesday.

   Illustration: People he calls forward fall under the power while he says nothing, as he says, 'I'm transferring the power of God just by my thoughts.'

   “Anything that you desire in life or you ever want in life, you can think it into being.”

   • Ephesians 3:20